The Oce Aura story is about a company with a uniquely defined brand and uniquely defined products.
With the passion and craftsmanship of two brothers from a little town on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to what is now a world-class manufacturer of fine jewellery.
WHERE IT ALL STARTED: 1960 – 1989
It all began some 40 years ago. The Trenberth family grew up in the little town called Tumby Bay, with a population of 900 people on the coast of the Eyre Peninsula.
Paul & Queen Trenberth. Paul & Queen had a passion for the sea, which they passed down through the generations.
They lived in Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and were both Malacologists (the study of Molluscs).
Queen used to dive for shellfish, so that she could lovingly study them. She would also avidly collect shells from the surrounding beaches that had washed up and built a substantial sample library of shellfish, sea horses, sharks teeth and marine fossils. Queen also has a Cowrie shell named after her called a trenberthae
(Google reference - Notocypraea comptonii trenberthae)
Micheal & Dale Trenberth, Paul & Queen’s grand children grew up to share this same love of the sea and they credit this for their passion for the design and balance that can be found in nature.
BUILDING THE DESIGN PLATFORM: 1990-2011
In 1990 Micheal began to apply his passion for design with the creation of fine jewellery and he was soon joined by Dale. They worked out of their shack in Tumby and skilfully created their very first pieces of Oce Aura fine jewellery.
In 2011 Micheal & Dale moved part of their operations to Port Lincoln, whilst still maintaining their operations in Tumby.
Oce Aura is hand finished in the finest 18 carat gold. The designs form part of the metal and many of the bezel settings are micro set to capture the incredible detail that makes up these wonderful designs, which range from Sea Horses, Sea Urchins, Star Fish, Abalone, as well as designed inspired by fossilised shark teeth and shells millions of years old.
Eddie Bell, of Rio Grande a recognised world leader in his field and director of one of the world’s largest and foremost manufacturers of jewellery making equipment commented, “Oce Aura is one of the finest casting processes that he has ever seen”
In 2011 Micheal & Dale design and craftsmanship skills were recognised and they were awarded the prestigious JAA (Jewellers Association of Australia) & Marie Claire Peoples Choice Award for Jewellery Design excellence.
THE PRESENT: 2013
Oce Aura has now developed into a vertically integrated business model from in-house design and manufacturing, to retail via the company owned retail platform.
Oce Aura’s mission – is to offer all women around the world access to the wonder of nature’s gifts in high quality, hand finished, modern and genuine jewellery pieces.
There is no other designer equal to nature and the gifts from the sea are some of the most precious, with unique stories all of their own.
Oce Aura is a celebration of nature, which is why we say naturally perfect.